Showing posts with label four stars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label four stars. Show all posts

Saturday, March 2, 2024

This Means War! by Lincoln Peirce

Nate has a new rival. Kyle is trying to claim messiest locker at school. But Nate might just have a few things up his sleeve. Or, you know, in his locker. Lots of touchbacks to previous stories in the series. Two storylines even overlap when Klassic Komix agrees to sponsor Nate's baseball team. Of course, it doesn't go the way that Nate expects when Wayne chooses the name of an unexpected character. 

Four stars
This book comes out March 5, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own



Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano

Vero and Finlay ended the last book missing someone important to them missing and they want to get that person back. To that end, they are heading to Atlantic City. They say it's for a girls' trip but somehow Finlay's children, mother, and ex-husband all end up coming along. 
They get to Atlantic City and meet the loan shark, but it all goes downhill from there. They're unable to make a deal and then the loan shark ends up dead. But how are they supposed to handle this situation? Especially when Finlay's sister and boyfriend show up on the scene.
These books are so well plotted with all of the pieces fitting together nicely and the ending come to a nice knot but still with a bit of a cliffhanger. There is always some disbelief of suspension that goes just a little too far for me but an overall nice read. Definitely read the other books in this series first. 

Four stars
This book comes out March 5, 2024
ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Monday, February 26, 2024

Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens by Andrea Penrose

Charlotte and Wrexford are getting married. That means that they are incredibly busy with wedding plans and the social twirl of being a newly engaged couple. It is at one of the parties, one at the Royal Botanic Gardens, that Wrexford is summoned into another room. He has gained a reputation for solving murders and the murdered man's friend is convinced this is not a natural death. Yes, the man had heart problems but the white powder around his mouth points to a different reason for death. 
An old enemy comes back and a new comrade (a cousin of Thomas Jefferson, no less) is made. 
A nice book with a branching into the botanic realm of the time, stepping out of the technical one a little bit. 

Wrexford & Sloan #5
Four stars
This book came out September 28, 2021
Followed by Murder at the Serpentine Bridge
Borrowed as hard copy from library
Opinions are my own





Sunday, February 25, 2024

Three Blind Mice and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

A novelization of Christie's long-running play with stories starring Poirot and Miss Marple. A wonderful amalgam of some of Christie's best short work.
Stories include the titular tale in which a young couple is starting up a hotel but their first guests arrive on the heels of a snowstorm. And one of them is a killer.
Miss Marple is the star of "Strange Jest" in which a young couple tries to decipher clues to a fortune left by a jocular uncle, "Tape-Measure Murder" which gives away the cause of death, and "The Case of the Perfect Maid" where she anticipates a crime. She also solves "The Case of the Caretaker" which is a manuscript given to her by her favorite doctor about a young man whose wife is murdered soon after they marry.
Hercule Poirot steps in to solve the mystery of "The Third Floor Flat" in which a double date leads to finding a dead body when one of the girls loses the key to her apartment and "The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly" wherein a young boy is kidnapped from under the noses of any number of policemen. He also gets a third story in "Four and Twenty Blackbirds" when the eating habits of 'Old Father Time' help to solve his murder.
The last story pulls misters Satterthwaite and Quinn who are less well known but still help solve the murder of a man even though both the man's wife and her lover confess in "The Love Detectives."

Four stars
This book came out in 1950
Hard copy of mine
Opinions are my own

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Atomic Habits by James Clear

A coworker of mine was talking about this book so I picked it up. It was an interesting premise, boiling down to four steps to develop better habits, all of which seem fairly obtainable. Clear also brings up some other ideas that resonated with me. One was the "Plateau of Latent Potential." He mentions that this is a place where you've been working hard for awhile but not seeing any results. But if you keep plugging away, it will seem like you have sudden results.
Another idea that Clear brings up is the idea of systems vs. goals. Goals are what you are trying to achieve, systems are the way that you get to those goals. These are actually MORE important than the goals themselves as they are markers of how you get to what you need to do.
An idea that really hit home for me is that your identity is tied to the things that you do regularly. That means, the best habits are the ones that help you to define your identity. 
The rest of the book (the bulk of the book) is set on defining the four laws (and their inverses): Make it obvious (invisible); make it attractive (unattractive); make it easy (difficult); make it satisfying (unsatisfying.)
These all made a tone of sense and seem like they could be easily actionable. 

Four stars
This book came out October 16, 2018
Borrowed as hard copy from library 
Opinions are my own


Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd

Lucy Harrington is the oldest daughter of the village rector. She has taken over many of the duties that are usually given to the rector's wife after her mother died. One of those duties includes caring for the invalids in her father's parish. That includes Major Robert Kurland who has recently returned from Waterloo.
Many of Major Kurland's memories from his time after returning home involve the managing voice of Miss Lucy Harrington telling him what to do and what not to do after she replace his original nurse who was a bit of a drunk. Though she is a plain woman, he appreciates her attitude. It is forthright and she is one of the few people who doesn't treat him as though his mind is as damaged as his leg. 
One night, the major looks out his window and sees someone carrying a heavy load. How does that tie in to the disappearance of two girls from the village? And what about the small thefts from various stores and houses?
The mysteries all tied together neatly. We get to see how Lucy and Robert interact. Though childhood friends, the two are definitely not in love (at this point) but they are making each other better and supporting each other when no one else will. 

Kurland St. Mary Mystery #1
Four stars
This book came out November 26, 2013
Followed by Death comes to London
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus catalog
Opinions are my own


Monday, February 19, 2024

Murder at Queen's Landing by Andrea Penrose

At first, Charlotte and Wrexford do not appear to be involved in this murder at all. But then, a mysterious exchange Charlotte overheard at a ball and the sudden disappearance of a friend mean that they are pulled into another mystery. 
Some new characters in this book but a number of people we've seen in previous books as well. Charlotte and Wrexford are growing ever closer but so is his friend Sheffield and the Lady Cordelia. It will take the intelligence of all of them as well as the guile of the Weasels to figure out why a clerk from the East India company was killed and then left for dead. And what their friends may have had to do with it. A convoluted set of intertwining mysteries (could have been a little less convoluted) but Penrose puts them together well.

Wrexford & Sloane #4
Four stars
This book came out September 29, 2020
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Sunday, February 18, 2024

The Hurtwood Village Murders by Benedict Brown

His second book now safely published, Marius Quin is going for a celebratory lunch with his Lady Isabella Montague. Too bad her beau, Gilbert Gaines, joins them. It seems the two have an idea for a new business as private investigators. Their first case can be why people are sending poison pen letters to people in the village they grew up in. Specifically, why Lucinda Heaton, who is revered by most of the town, is getting these letters. 
Isabella and Marius travel back and get to know some of the people in town, none of whom have changed very much though Marius describes trying to overlay the people from his memories with the people in front of him. Then, someone is murdered. Inspector Lovelace is pressed into service once again (though neither Bella nor Marius know his first name...
This was a nice addition to the series. I didn't love the wrap up to the mystery but it left us with an open ended question for the next book in the series.

Marius Quin #2
Four stars
This book comes out February 20, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Storm Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own


Saturday, February 17, 2024

Lady Avely's Guide to Truth and Magic by Rosalie Oaks

This is a really cute book and I am going to figure out how to read the other series that Oaks has. I was a little annoyed at some of the capitalization in this book and can't figure out why because I haven't minded it in other books. I am also not a fan of time skips but that only happened in the first half of this book and I was very relieved. 
Judith Avely has only recently been given the rank of marchioness for her husband's service to the crown. Unfortunately, after his death, she also discovered something else about him and she is returning to Sargenet, the estate of the Duke of Sargen, to try to heal that secret. Being able to use her new title will work to her advantage as she doesn't want anyone to know who she is. 
The first night at the inn, she not only encounters a vampiri, she also sees, and is seen by, the Duke. It seems that he is recently returned after nine years abroad to deal with the rumors of a haunting on his estate and the death of a footman. He could use her Gift of Discernment (being able to hear a lie) to help ferret out the truth of what has been going on while he is gone. 
I loved the lay out of the main characters but thought we could have learned more about some of the side characters, especially the ones that come into play at the end of the book. It is hard to do when there are so many characters that we will probably see in future books so Oaks was trying to paint them all equally. 

Matronly Misadventures #1
Four stars
This book came out February 16, 2024
Followed by Lady Avely's Guide to Lies and Charms
ARC kindly provided by Parkerville Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz

Isabel Wainwright has just been fired. She worked for a dream lab as a Level 5 extreme dream analysis. Her former boss had postulated that there were five levels of dreaming with very few people who are able to reach the fifth level. So far, Isabel is the only analyst they know of. There is an unnamed government agency who has been using Level Five dreamers to solve particularly nasty crimes. Isabel then interprets their more enigmatic dreams.
But her boss has died and his son fires Isabel. She is frantic since she just spent a lot of money on some very expensive furniture. Eventually she ends up asking her sister's husband, who runs a motivational center, for a job as one of his teachers.
The romance aspect comes in to play when one of Isabel's client, Ellis Cutler, who she had privately dubbed as "Dream Man," finds her and tries to draw her into the unnamed government agency. But he's not the only one who wants her expertise. There's someone else who is willing to kill to make sure Isabel doesn't leave with Ellis.

Four stars
This book came out September 30, 2004
Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus
Opinions are my own



Friday, February 9, 2024

The Framed Women of Ardemore House by Brandy Schillace

Jo Jones has had a very fraught couple of years. Her much-older husband sold their publishing company out from under her for a pittance and then divorced her. Right as that was happening her mother died. On the Monday before this book starts, she finds out that she's inherited an estate in England from her mother and the book opens with her arriving there with her solicitor, Rupert Selkirk. It's just unfortunate that the next person she meets, Sid Randles, the caretaker of her livable cottage, is such an unpleasant jerk. He even leaves a lawn mower running and seems to be the obvious suspect when a painting goes missing from a previously locked room. 
It is the painting that Jo focuses on during this story even though Sid turns up dead in her cottage. And it's very refreshing to see an amateur sleuth sort of staying in her own lane. 
This was a really nice read about an autistic main character. The author didn't avoid the dread love (interest) triangle but I think this is going to be the start of a series with characters I really enjoy. 

Four stars
This book comes out February 13, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Murder at Kensington Palace by Andrea Penrose

Charlotte Sloane is coming up against the secret of her former life in a big way in this novel. In the last book of the series, she admitted her past to the Earl of Wrexford. But a young gentleman's death, presumably by his three-minutes-younger brother, will pull her into the spotlight.
Both of the young men in question were deeply involved in the scientific community but the twin who was killed was working on some particularly gruesome experiments that may also have led to his death. Of course, it might also be related to gambling debts. But whatever it is, Charlotte is determined to solve the murder, even if it means returning to a world she thought she had completely turned her back on.
I really liked this mystery and the fact that it moved Charlotte's character forward. We are getting to see both Raven and Hawk grow into their own. Wrexford may not have had as much to do in this book but his relationship with Charlotte is growing at a nice speed.

Wrexford & Sloane #3
Four stars
This book came out September 24, 2019
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own


Sunday, February 4, 2024

My Murder by Katie Williams

I saw this on the Books We Love list for 2023 and thought it looked interesting. We meet Lou who is a clone but who has all the memories of her previous body. As you can imagine, there is some dysmorphia over whether she really is "her" and some exploration of what it means to be yourself.
With four other women, Lou was brought back by the Replication Committee. All five of them were killed by a serial killer whose name is now famous and he is in prison. They are all trying to figure out what it means to have been brought back with all of their memories, with their same faces, but with a gap missing of what actually happened at the end (ascribed to trauma.)
Lou is having problems since the daughter who she wasn't even sure about before she died certainly wants nothing to do with her now that she has returned. She's also struggling in her job which seems to be virtual cuddling (human touch in a virtual age.)
A really interesting book that was a little disturbing a points but overall an interesting read. 

Four stars
This book came out June 6, 2023
Borrowed as hard copy from Library
Opinions are my own

Friday, January 26, 2024

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

I read the first book by Stevenson, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, and enjoyed it. There was some verbal trickery that I didn't quite agree with but still, a fun book. Having read that book made this one more enjoyable and so did expecting that the author would toy with the readers expectations.
Ernest Cunningham returns as the first person narrator. He's been asked to come along as the debut writer on the Australian Mystery Writer's Society's fiftieth anniversary of their Festival. Along with five other writers, he will be doing a series of panels for a select group. 
Also on the train is his girlfriend, Juliette, and his literary agent, Simone Morrison, as well as any number of other characters. Ernest is not excited to see Simone as he is late on delivering his next book, the one he has already gotten an advance for. It's just too bad because he just doesn't have a brain for fiction. So it's with mixed emotions that Ernest realizes that a death along their journey may not be entirely natural. He decides that he is going to investigate, all while writing his next book (the one we are reading) while adhering to the rules he lists at the beginning of the book. 
As in the first book, Ernest drops clues as to who the murderer will end up being. Also like the first book, many of those clues were deft red herrings. It made it a little hard to read and some of the story felt a little thin but it was overall a very nice read and I'm hoping that the epilogue is a hint to how the next book in the series will be rolled out. 

Four stars
This book comes out January 30, 2024
Follows Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone
ARC kindly provided by Mariner Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own



Wednesday, January 24, 2024

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

I didn't realize this was a collection of short stories. Or that this was such a short book. It is still utterly delightful. I'm wondering where they were published before because I had read one of them.
All of the stories center on Maud. She has lived in the same apartment for over seventy years. After her father died, it was the only thing of value the family owned. The building was sold but her apartment was kept for as long as she, or her mother, or her sister, lived. Maud is the only one left but she still lives in that apartment. She travels at least once a year but always returns. Her life has been filled with disappointments but lately she has taken to killing the people that she sees as a threat.


Four stars
This book came out January 1, 2013
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own

Monday, January 22, 2024

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett

I've read all of Hallett's other books and really enjoy her format of a mix of various media. This book includes texting, transcription, and a What'sApp-type app. Supposedly, the reader has opened a safe box with printouts of all of this communication. The story mainly revolves around Amanda Bailey, an author who is focusing on a case that is about eighteen years old, that of a cult whose leader is in jail for killing two people. They also kidnapped a baby who will be turning eighteen this year and a new book could focus around their experiences and the life they now live.
As with Hallett's previous stories, there are layers upon layers and red herrings abound. It got a little too complicated for me in parts but it was overall a lovely read.

Four stars
This book comes out January 23, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own


Sunday, January 21, 2024

Random in Death by J. D. Robb

A young girl is attending an under 21 concert at a local club. Someone elbows her harshly, but it's the needle stick masked by the movement that kills her. She ends up dying in the arms of the lead singer.
In the way of things in the "In Death" books, that lead singer is Jake, amour of Eve Dallas's friend, Nadine. He is able to get ahold of Eve so that she becomes entwined in the story. The bigger problem of this story that this girl is only the first. Someone out there is targeting teens but there is no discernible connection between the victims. 
It will be up to Dallas and Peabody to figure out what is going on before the killer takes any more lives.
This is one of the Dallas stories where we see the point of view of the killer so we know a little more than Dallas does. There are also a number of characters from past stories and they are becoming more and more entwined as the Dallas stories go on. A few too many people (felt like some were shoehorned in) but a solid addition to the In Death series.

In Death #58
Four stars
This book comes out January 23, 2024
Followed by Passions in Death
ARC kindly provided by Macmillan and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Reread as audiobook from Libby February 2024

Friday, January 19, 2024

Through the Wilderness by Brad Orsted

I sort of peripherally know the author having worked with his ex-wife and was curious about the book. I knew a little bit about their story (that they had a child who had died) but didn't know the whys and wherefores. And that story is enough to bring anyone to their knees.
Orsted talks through his life with a bit of a description of his childhood through meeting his wife and kids, his daughter's birth, and death. Interspersed with these stories are his life after it changes irrevocably. He moves to Montana, on the border of Yellowstone National Park. 
More and more studies are showing the healing powers of being in nature and Orsted is certainly proof of that. His story is a hard one to read but hopeful in the end with a great look at Yellowstone and the joys of living in the wild. 

Four stars
This book came out June 27, 2023
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own



Monday, January 8, 2024

Can't Get Enough by G.A. Aiken

Shalin the Innocent wouldn't mind sleeping with Ailean the Wicked but doing so would set off the rampant jealousy of her princess who is obsessed with the male. So she's been sent to the human realm to protect her. 
However, Ailean sees her after a night of debauchery with another woman and he kisses her. When word gets back to the princess, Shalin is suddenly sold to a dragon in the Northlands. Ailean is irate. But he's going to get his woman. 
The origins of Bercalek. Too short but adorable. 

Four stars
Dragon Kin #0.1
This book came out September 1, 2008
Followed by A Tale of Two Dragons
Borrowed from Audible Plus
Opinions are my own

Saturday, January 6, 2024

A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn

Veronica and Stoker very nearly declared themselves in the last book. But they were interrupted by Stoker's brother, Tiberius. After that, Veronica fled halfway around the world for six months, afraid of her feelings (whether or not she'll admit that to herself). She's barely back when Tiberius lures her to a remote island, to  a house party in a castle with promises of the larvae of a rare butterfly. Veronica knows he has ulterior motives but she's willing to do what it takes to get the butterfly. And maybe to tweak Stoker's nose a bit as she poses as Tiberius' fiancée. 
But it is even more mysterious than it first appears. Three years ago, a woman disappeared on her wedding day and the family has been in hiding ever since. This house party is their first toe into coming back into society. But a seance brings a ghost back to life and old secretes rise again.
The story was fine but the real draw for me was the growth for Veronica. A bit for Stoker as well but their story moved enough to be an enjoyable read.

Four stars
This book came out March 12, 2019
Opinions are my own